Unilever's offer in Bestfoods opens on November 27

By Our Staff Correspondent

MUMBAI, OCT. 15. Unilever's offer to acquire the 24.62 per cent public shareholding in International Bestfoods Ltd. (IBL) will open on November 27 and close on December 26.

The offer is being made according to SEBI (SAST) regulations, following international acquisition of Bestfoods USA by Unilever. The shares are being acquired by Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL), Unilever's Indian subsidiary. Unilever already beneficially owns Bestfoods's 75.38 equity in IBL.

The offer, approved by SEBI, is to acquire, at a price of Rs. 173 per share, all the 14.40 lakh shares of IBL, accounting for the 24.62 per cent stake, held by different non-Unilever shareholders.

The offer price is based on the average of last 26 weeks' high and low at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The offer price is higher than that in two other possible alternatives Unilever/HLL could have followed: Net asset value based on FEMA regulations (the price would have been Rs. 135.65 per share), or the enterprise value (the price would have been Rs. 85 per share).

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Section  : Business
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